Solar System

Mercury: Mercury is the first planet and the closest planet to the sun. It has a very thin atmosphere. It has a temperature range of 800 degrees Fahrenheit to -280 degrees Fahrenheit. In this passage, there will be many other facts about Mercury such as the characteristics of the planet and how it compares to our planet Earth. Mercury was not discovered by one single person. Since it was discovered before history was written. It is approximately 35.98 million miles away from the sun and has…

1977. This alignment occurs only once every 175 years. The Grand Tour as the program was called had launch windows between 1976 and 1980. The original idea of the Grand Tour was to send four probes to ultimately visit every planet in our outer solar system. In 1971 funding for the Grand Tour program was canceled in the 1973 NASA budget due to the federal budget reducing NASA funding and subsequently NASA focusing on the new shuttle program. To keep their dream alive NASA reworked their…

There could actually be planets that are doubles of our own. Meaning, that there could be mirrors of our very own solar system the earth, and even us! In these worlds all possible decisions would be played out. For example on one planet you might have decided not to go to the mall yesterday or a fast food chain you like might not even exist. NOw I know what you’re thinking…

stars galaxies, suns, solar systems and planets. Everyday there are sightings all over the world by citizens, commercial pilots, and military personnel. I think we have been visited and offered help to benefit mankind with technologies that can alleviate us from dependence on fossil fuels and oil dependence. We probably been warned of the dangers that we are imposing on plants, animals, water, and environment. What effects this planet probably effect the entire solar system. The government will…

contributor of space.com “4.6 years ago, the solar system was a cloud of dust and gas know as a solar nebula. With the rise of the sun, the remaining material began to clump up. Small particles drew together, bound by the force of gravity, into larger particles. The solar wind swept away lighter elements, such as hydrogen and helium from the closer regions, leaving only heavy, rocky materials to create smaller terrestrial worlds like earth. But farther away, the solar winds had less impact on…

Our solar system revolves around the sun, nine planets kept in orbit by this bright star’s gravitational pull. The sun is not only an essential part of our solar system, but also an essential part to life on earth. This star does everything from allowing life to exist on our planet by providing the nutrients necessary for living things to grow to determining the length of our days and the brightness of the moon. Without the sun, the solar system might not even exist, or at least not the way it…

in Space: The Pathfinder Mission: Robotic missions have always been essential to space travel. Robots have fewer needs than humans, and handle radiation and reduced gravity well. They also act as scouts, returning valuable information from far away solar bodies…

“Named for the Roman goddess of love and beauty, Venus is also the only planet that is named for a female.” ("Venus, Second Planet from the Sun, Brightest Planet in Solar System." Space.com. Web. 30 Apr. 2014) Venus has fewer impact craters than any other planet. Also unlike most planets, Venus turns clockwise on its axis, as opposed to counter-clockwise. This is called retrograde rotation. It is said that this is because of their close position to the Sun. Appearing to be a nice golden color,…

Out there somewhere are five “planets” and possibly many more that never got deemed good enough to be a part of the eight planets in our Solar System today. A big debate in this world today is what should be considered a planet and what should be recognized as a dwarf planet. If all you need to make the cut to be a planet is orbiting around the sun, have enough a gravity to pull it into a sphere, and have cleared the neighborhood of your orbit, then wouldn't some dwarf planets out there be…

Neptune is one of the four large planets in our Solar System known as Gas Giants. It is the eighth planet in order from the Sun, and was seen through a telescope for the first time on the 23rd of September 1846. Keeping to the traditional naming system used for all the previous planets, Neptune was given its name based on the Roman god of the sea, in reference to Greek and Roman mythology. General Information: Neptune has a vivid blue colouration to its layer of cloud cover. Higher…